World Cup 2018 - Russia

Welp.

...

Go Croatia! Beat France!

Abu5217 wrote:

Oh damn, in the excitement I had forgotten that England vs Belgium 2 - This Time it Really Doesn't Matter can still be a thing.

England has the chance to lose all 3 games they played vs good teams.

I'm not counting Colombia without James ;P

jowner wrote:
Abu5217 wrote:

Oh damn, in the excitement I had forgotten that England vs Belgium 2 - This Time it Really Doesn't Matter can still be a thing.

England has the chance to lose all 3 games they played vs good teams.

I'm not counting Colombia without James ;P

Have they scored a goal from open play since the game against Panama?

I mean, you get em' where you get em', but still.

And I too expect Croatia to give France a good game on Sunday, although I suspect France has enough about them to give us a repeat of the Belgium game.

Prederick wrote:

Have they scored a goal from open play since the game against Panama?

I mean, you get em' where you get em', but still.

The second one against Sweden.

Imagine being Nikola Kalinic right now, who got sent home by the Croatia manager after the first game for refusing to come on as a sub...

Mr Bismarck wrote:

Fair play to Croatia - I hope they go on and win it now as I'd really like a new name on the trophy.

I was hoping for Croatia v Belgium for this reason, but I didn't really hate any of the final 4 teams. I'm just looking forward to a decent match on Sunday. How much energy will Croatia have after 360' plus two sets of penalties over their last 3 matches?

Abu5217 wrote:

Oh damn, in the excitement I had forgotten that England vs Belgium 2 - This Time it Really Doesn't Matter can still be a thing.

I was talking to someone at work today about how unusual it is to see the same fixture twice in one tournament. It must be more rare (possibly unprecedented) for both of them to be essentially meaningless.

I said "essentially" because I think that the people saying it would be better to lose that final group match were proven correct. If England had to play a yellow & blue team, they definitely wanted Sweden not Brasil.

Welp... I do remember 2 teams playing against each other twice. The first and last game of the tournament. It's a bad memory I just can't forget.

Prederick wrote:

Less than 5 million people, have only been independent since 1991, and have just been ridiculously good most of that time, considering.

No, they really haven't been that good, but they've been good enough. Modric is hands down the best player of the tournament. What a joy to watch.

I'm not sure what to say of England. They were dominant untial they scored and for a few minutes after, but then they decided to sit deep and just dry up Croatia. It worked. Croatia couldn't create chances and their first goal could maybe be considered a foul. But man, the English players just broke down psychologically. Gareth needs to work on this.
I do believe England will probably be one of the most likely candidates to win the next Euro. The talent is already there and there are younger players already winning international competitions.

France will probably win this, but I'm going to root hard for Croatia. Let's have a new winner, please.

England v Brussels for third place does seem like it could be tortured into a Brexit metaphor.

slazev wrote:

No, they really haven't been that good, but they've been good enough.

I mean, third place in 98, some quarterfinal appearances in the Euros, I think, certainly compared to the rest of the former Yugoslavian nations and other nations of their size, they've been pretty impressive.

Rat Boy wrote:

I can't get over the Steve Nash resemblance.

More like Robert Carlyle to me.

Mixolyde wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

I can't get over the Steve Nash resemblance.

More like Robert Carlyle to me.

Seconded

I don't ever watch football, but being in France until January I started watching their last couple games. The England / Croatia game was so different from the France / Belgium game. England and Croatia (especially Croatia) seemed to advance the ball much more aggressively then France and Belgium. I don't usually watch football so I don’t know what typical play is like. It seems like the refs let Croatia get away with aggressive contact. I was kinda hoping for a France vs England cup while I’m in France. Go France!

It gets crazy here after the games. People yelling in the street, motorcycles driving the wrong way down one way streets, cars speeding around and then screeching their tires.

The footwork and ball control that goes on during these matches is pretty impressive.

England-Croatia was a significantly better game than Belgium-France was, yeah. It's just that France are, both on paper and in real terms, probably the most talented team in the tournament at all 11 positions, so they're capable of getting a 1-0 lead and then sitting on it.

Let us know how things are after the final whistle blows on Sunday though!

Prederick wrote:

Let us know how things are after the final whistle blows on Sunday though!

Hopefully our apartment doesn't get burned down

Prederick wrote:
slazev wrote:

No, they really haven't been that good, but they've been good enough.

I mean, third place in 98, some quarterfinal appearances in the Euros, I think, certainly compared to the rest of the former Yugoslavian nations and other nations of their size, they've been pretty impressive.

Oh, sorry. Thought you were talking about their performance in this world cup. Yes, they've been usually pretty solid.
That ex-yugoslavia area has consistently produced good players.

This is stone cold.

"And Fellaini."

Mr Bismarck wrote:

This is stone cold.

"And Fellaini."

Savage.

Thought about it:

There is no goddamn way I'm waking up at 10 AM to watch a 3rd-place game none of the players want to particularly play either.

Prederick wrote:

Thought about it:

There is no goddamn way I'm waking up at 10 AM to watch a 3rd-place game none of the players want to particularly play either.

well, if you slept in until 10:05 you've already missed our first

Yeah I think Belgium wants to win this

Well they should do - they are better than England 1-11.

For dejanzie:

Gary Lineker on Twitter wrote:

Dear non English football fans. Football’s coming home is a fun song highlighting the lack of success of our football team for decades. No one really thought we’d win it. I totally get why you might think it was arrogance, but it’s more our self deprecatory sense of humour.

Pfft, not even Lineker's best tweet of the day.

Football is coming home isn't even the best England football anthem.

If they got this going again I might have got on the bandwagon.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

For dejanzie:

Gary Lineker on Twitter wrote:

Dear non English football fans. Football’s coming home is a fun song highlighting the lack of success of our football team for decades. No one really thought we’d win it. I totally get why you might think it was arrogance, but it’s more our self deprecatory sense of humour.

not a great second half by the Belgians, Thielemans faded away and the Chadli injury took away some momentum as well.

That counter, with the Meunier volley saved by Pickford... Probably the best counter attack of the tournament.

That volley was gorgeous. Amazing one-handed save.

According to the commentator that's the first own goal scored in a World Cup final.

France now really set up to sit back and counter, which is disappointing. I was hoping for a Croatia goal to get France to open things up.

I love how the France goal was set up off of a penalty that was actually just a dive.

Oh well. At least Croatia scored back.

Well, Perisic with a superb equalizer makes sure Francce can't park the bus.